The Gossamer Syndicate
by Kara Paravel
Summary: When both Marinette and Ladybug mysteriously disappear, Lila teams up with Tikki for a rescue mission, and uncovers a sinister secret. Written for Lilanette Week.
1. Chapter 1

For the first time in my life, I didn't have a plan. I was alone, I was helpless, and above all I was very confused.

A few months had passed since I had been akumatized, when I had become Volpina. That day was all a blur in my head: I desperately tried to hold on to whatever memories I could, but eventually almost all of them faded away. After that eventful day, I had expected things to go back to being calm and straightforward, but they had only become more and more complicated. Supervillains would attack our school every few weeks, I had to deal with all the backlash coming from the other students about what I had told them, and I had fallen in love.

At this moment, that last bit was key. The girl I had fallen in love with had vanished. It had been days now, and Marinette was no longer coming to class or answering texts or calls. I stopped by her house to see if she was there, only to find that her parents had been searching desperately all across Paris, and had contacted the police.

Usually, I was very good at planning. I liked to have a comprehensive and detailed plan going into every situation, and I was excellent at coming up with clever ideas very quickly. But this time, I didn't know where to start. She could be anywhere, for any reason. I quickly thought of dozens of possibilities, each of which would take weeks to investigate. The police claimed they could handle it, but I didn't have particularly high expectations of the father of Sabrina.

But I wanted to help. It just seemed like something I should be able to do. It was ridiculous that I could come up with one of the most effective plans to take down Ladybug and Chat Noir, but I couldn't figure out how to find one missing girl.

I considered asking somebody to help me. But that had never worked before. Everybody always underestimated my ability to execute a plan, and would say that I should just leave it to somebody else. They never remembered all my successes. And besides, there wasn't anybody I could ask. Marinette was the only person I knew at the school who would treat me well; everybody else still harbored resentment from the time I had played them all as fools.

I sat down outside the bakery and put my head in my hands. I wasn't supposed to cry. After what happened in Italy, I had promised myself I would never cry again, and I had only broken that promise once, when my greatest idol had betrayed me. But it seemed that I was close to breaking it again, because at this moment I couldn't find a single shard of my shattered hope.

And that's when the voice started to speak to me.

For a moment, I was terrified: this was exactly how it started last time, when Hawkmoth had transformed me, using me for evil. But this voice was different: it was much higher, and didn't seem to be fueled by the same rage I had heard in the undertones of Hawkmoth's words.

"Are you okay?" it asked simply.

I shook my head. "Far from it."

"You want to ask for help, don't you? But you don't know who to ask."

Even though the voice sounded different, this seemed all too familiar, and I wasn't taking any chances. "Who are you?" I asked carefully.

"Let's just say I'm somebody with a common interest," the voice replied. "I can help you, and you can help me."

No. No. Definitely not. This was exactly the same as last time.

"Down here," the voice said. "On the sidewalk."

Oh. I'd thought it was in my head. Silly me. I looked down at the sidewalk and saw a small red creature, with a large head and several black spots.

"Hello Lila, I'm Tikki," the creature said calmly.

I stared at the creature, more confused than shocked. "How do you know who I am?" I asked.

"Let's say that I've seen you around a lot lately," Tikki explained coyly.

"I haven't seen you around, ever," I retorted.

"I know," Tikki replied. "I usually stay hidden, except in troublesome situations. Like the current one."

"You're related to Ladybug somehow, aren't you?" I realized.

Tikki nodded. "I know that you and Ladybug—"

"Nope," I said firmly. "I'm not getting involved with Ladybug again. Not a chance. She's cocky, self-absorbed, and—"

"She's gone," Tikki interrupted. "She disappeared a few days ago, without a trace."

I shrugged nonchalantly, even though the news was genuinely surprising. "Well, I suspect Paris will be better off without her."

Tikki narrowed her eyes and leaped off the sidewalk, hovering right in front of my face. "Listen to me. The girl you love disappeared a few days ago, too, didn't she?"

I drew back. "How do you know about that?"

"The same way I know everything else about you. It's not important. But do you seriously think the two disappearances aren't related? Somebody's up to something, and has caused Ladybug to disappear, and I'm sure whoever did this is also responsible for the disappearance of Marinette. I need help finding Ladybug, and you need help finding Marinette. Together, you and I can save them both."

I thought for a minute. "What can you possibly do to help find Marinette that I can't already do on my own?"

Tikki laughed. "Lila, you shouldn't be so quick to judge people by appearance. I may be small, but I have a number of hidden talents."

"So I can find Marinette again, at the cost of having to help Ladybug, too."

"You really shouldn't ever let your hate for one person outweigh your love for another," Tikki coolly replied.

I nodded. "All right, Tikki, it's a deal. Now how do we get started?"

Tikki held out her arms and dropped two small objects into my hand. "Take these earrings and put them on."

"Why?" I asked suspiciously.

"Perhaps I should be more clear. I'm what makes Ladybug a hero. Most of the time, she has no more powers than you do. And when she needs to use her powers, she needs two things—these earrings, and me."

"So, you're saying…if I put on these earrings, then I'll become like Ladybug?"

"When you say 'spots on.' Once you say that, you transform."

I threw the earrings to the sidewalk. "No. Absolutely not. I'm willing to rescue her as a side effect of rescuing Marinette, but this is too much. There is no way I'm going to let myself become like her."

"Listen, Lila. If you don't let me transform you, this will be much harder to pull off."

"I'm good with 'much harder,'" I said as Tikki picked up the earrings off the sidewalk. "By the way, why did you come to me, instead of somebody else?"

"To be honest, you weren't exactly my first pick as a partner," Tikki admitted. "I was trying to find your friend Alya, but she didn't notice me when she went by."

"She's not my friend," I corrected. "Not at all. She exposed me, on her blog. She's the reason why everybody's ostracizing me."

"Well, I'm sure she'll have a higher opinion of you once you've rescued her friend Marinette," Tikki suggested.

"I don't care one bit about what she thinks of me," I retorted.

"Yes, you do," Tikki insisted. "But we're getting off topic. If you wanted to chat, you're talking to the wrong kwami."

"Okay then. Given that there's no way I'm ever going to put on those earrings, how should we get started?"

"You see that Métro station there?" Tikki said, pointing. "We need to get to the Eiffel Tower. I'll hide in your backpack, okay?"

I nodded, and Tikki flew quickly into my bag. The bag was quite full, and I wasn't quite sure how she fit in there. I went down the stairs, paid my fare, and waited on the platform. It was less than two minutes before the train showed up and I stepped into a crowded carriage.

"Take out your phone and put it to your ear," Tikki said from my bag.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"So we can talk to each other," Tikki explained dryly. "There are enough people on here that nobody will be able to pick out my voice, but it'll look odd if you're talking while supposedly traveling alone."

I nodded in understanding and pulled out my phone. "Okay Tikki, so what's the plan?"

"We're going to go to the concession stand at the base of the Eiffel Tower, and you're going to buy a bag of popcorn."

"Excuse me?" There was no way I was hearing that right.

"We're going to buy a bag of popcorn, to feed to the pigeons."

I slapped my hand to my face. "How does that possibly get us any closer to rescuing Marinette?"

"Because it'll give us an excuse to talk to Xavier Ramier."

"Who's that? That name doesn't ring any bells."

"He's that funny-looking man who's always feeding the pigeons at the Trocadero."

"And how is he important to what's going on?"

"Because he was once akumatized, as Mr. Pigeon, and because he's always in the same place every evening, so he's easy to find."

"I can find people who have been akumatized far more easily than that," I retorted. "I share a class with about ten of them."

"Mr. Ramier isn't just easy for you to find," Tikki explained. "He's easy for anybody to find. And so we need to find out who's already tried to find him in the past."

"And who do you think tried to find him?"

"I have my suspicions that a few of Hawkmoth's previous victims have been forming an underground movement to serve Hawkmoth and to bring down Ladybug and Chat Noir."

That was surprising. "What makes you think that?"

"Some of Hawkmoth's victims have been less than noble characters, with fairly unpleasant motives. They most likely think that Hawkmoth provides an option for them to fulfill their dark designs, while they see Ladybug and Chat Noir as holding them back."

"And so you think they'd try to find this pigeon man?"

"I think so. And so the question is whether any of them have approached Mr. Ramier. And this is where you come in…I need you to talk to Mr. Ramier, and find out who has approached him and what they said."

"Okay Tikki, I can do that."

"Excellent! Now this is our stop."

I got off the train and rushed up the stairs and out of the station, heading for the Eiffel Tower. After buying a large bag of popcorn at the concession stand, Tikki and I headed across the Seine towards the Trocadéro.

We'd timed it well. Xavier Ramier was happily sitting in his usual place, and the pigeons had crowded around. Following Tikki's instructions, I sat down just a couple paces away, reached into the popcorn, and tossed a large handful towards the birds, who received it excitedly. Once the pigeons had eaten all the crumbs, I tossed another handful.

As Tikki and I had hoped, this caught the eccentric man's attention. "A fellow friend to my feathered friends, I see!" he said happily, looking over at me. "They're magnificent, aren't they?"

"Oh, absolutely, sir," I replied politely.

"Oh, please, call me Xavier!" the man insisted. "Any friend to the pigeons is a friend to me."

"All right, Xavier," I replied, trying to think of a way to ease into asking Tikki's questions.

"Look at this handsome fellow," Xavier commented, pointing at a pigeon who was plucking one piece of popcorn off the ground. "I call him Jacques. Just look at his plumage—such elegance, such luster!"

"Yes, definitely," I replied, not quite as enthused as Xavier evidently was.

"So what brings you here this fine evening?" Xavier asked, tossing a handful of what appeared to be seeds from a brown paper bag.

"Well, I was actually hoping to talk to you, Xavier," I replied, seizing the opportunity. "From what I understand, at one point you briefly held the identity of 'Mr. Pigeon.'"

Xavier's smile faded. "I don't want to have anything to do with that anymore," he replied. "It was a mistake. But how did you know?"

"Well, you see, I share your concerns," I explained, "as a fellow victim of Hawkmoth's akumas."

Xavier narrowed his eyes and stared at me. "And who might you be, then?"

"Volpina," I replied. "You probably don't know about me."

Xavier drew back. "Oh, yes, I know about you," he said quietly. "The Ladyblog said that you were possibly the most dangerous villain of them all."

Yes, Alya would say that. No matter. I pressed on. "Well you see, Xavier, I doubt that I'm the first former villain to come talk to you."

"You're quite right," Xavier said with a nod and a shudder. "A few weeks ago, another came by, right here at about this same time. That's why I was worried for a moment; I thought you were with him."

"And who was that?" I prompted.

"Oh, I can't quite remember his name," Xavier mused. "He was a photographer, though, and I think he had a pink streak in his hair."

"I don't think I know him," I sighed.

"But I do!" Tikki said very quietly from behind my head. "His name's Vincent Aza. I even know his address!"

"Actually, I do think I know him after all," I corrected. "So what did he tell you?"

"He said…well, he said a few things. But I think…yes, his main point was about a network of former villains, working together. Naturally, I didn't want any part in that; it seemed like a crazed Hawkmoth cult. And they called themselves…the Gossamer Syndicate, yes, that's it!"

"You've been a huge help, Xavier," I said. "Thank you very much."

"Wait!" Xavier interjected. "Why are you asking me all these questions?"

I thought for a few seconds to come up with a convincing explanation. "I was sent here by Ladybug," I said finally. "She's trying to bring down this Gossamer Syndicate, but knew almost nothing about it until now. She sends her regards, and is sorry she couldn't be here herself; she'd have loved to have seen you again."

"Oh!" Xavier replied cheerfully. "Well in that case, give her my greetings! And good luck in bringing this syndicate down!"

Not wanting to be caught up in conversation any longer, I hastily left, leaving behind the now half-empty bag of popcorn. Hiding behind the wall, I opened my bag to talk to Tikki.

"Well, that was certainly useful," Tikki informed me happily. "Now we just have to go after Vincent Aza."

"You've really planned this well," I commented. "I barely had to lie at all!"

"You didn't even have to," Tikki pointed out. "You could just as easily have told the truth."

"The lie was easier," I said flatly. "So, what's this photographer's address?"

"Just get back on the Métro and follow my directions," Tikki replied. "Unless you've changed your mind and are willing to transform? It would make this much easier."

I shook my head. "Nope. Not going to happen."

Tikki sighed. "All right then. Now let's go, quickly!"

I ran off with Tikki in my bag, ready to go save the girl I loved.


	2. Chapter 2

As the evening moonlight reflected off the rooftops, I snuck down the lamplit alley, Tikki hovering by my side. The wooden door was down a short flight of steps. I walked down, careful to not make a sound, and put my ear to the door to listen.

"What do you hear?" Tikki whispered.

"I don't hear anything," I whispered back. "Check the window to see if they're still there."

Tikki flew over to the narrow window with metal bars, peered in, and flew back. "They've gotten up," she reported, "and they're heading down the hallway away from us. We should follow."

I tried the door handle. "It's locked."

"Good thing you have me, then." Tikki drew a deep breath and flew through the door, passing through the wood as if it were an illusion. I heard a faint click, and the door creaked open.

"Did they hear the door?" I whispered frantically to Tikki.

Tikki glanced at the hallway. "Doesn't look like it. Quick, let's follow them!"

I gingerly crept across the room, checking the floor before every footfall to avoid clutter or potentially creaky floorboards. The light in the room was off, but the light cast from the hallway illuminated the numerous boxes and miscellaneous contraptions that littered the entire area. It seemed as if this area functioned like a basement. To my right, I saw the table that Tikki had mentioned when she described where the three men had been sitting just a minute before.

The hallway was narrow, with white plastered walls. I hid next to the corner, and peered around just in time to see the third man turn the corner, his coattails trailing behind him.

"We're all clear," I whispered to Tikki, and I quickly tiptoed down the hallway. I winced as a floorboard creaked, but after half a minute of panicked waiting it seemed as if the three men hadn't noticed.

It was then that I heard a deep, commanding voice. "Still not willing to talk, are you?"

"Let me at her!" a slightly higher voice insisted. "I shall loosen the tongue of this foolish whippersnapper."

"Is that Mr. D'Argencourt?" I whispered incredulously to Tikki, who solemnly nodded.

"No!" the first voice ordered. "We will keep our methods civil. No harm must come to her."

"Look," a third voice said. "I admire your morals, but it's been three days and we still have had no luck whatsoever."

"If luck is what you wanted," a much higher voice interjected, "then you're definitely going about this the wrong way."

That was Marinette; I was sure of it. I couldn't resist any longer—I peeked around the far corner of the hallway.

The three men were standing in the center of an immense circular room, that a town house could have easily fit inside. The room was ringed by an industrial metal balcony, which the hallway opened onto, and a staircase led down from the balcony to the floor. And in the center of the room was a large iron cage, with the three men standing around it. And inside the cage was Marinette.

Something snapped inside me. They didn't get to do that to Marinette. I pushed aside everything that had held me back before.

"Tikki, spots on."

I heard my voice firmly saying the phrase, but I hadn't said it consciously. My vision began to fade and to flash red. I felt dizzy as a red and black costume materialized itself around me. As my vision returned to normal, I barely managed to catch myself against the wall to avoid collapsing on the floor.

"What was that?" the voice of Mr. D'Argencourt asked sharply.

Oh no. I take it the transformation was not inconspicuous. I heard footsteps that seemed to be getting closer.

"Tikki, what should I do?" I whispered frantically. "Where did you go?" I looked around, and couldn't see Tikki anywhere. What was she doing? I needed her!

Then I realized. I was alone, I was scared, and I didn't have a plan. I was right back where I started. So I had to improvise.

"Sorry, fellas, but it's time to bust up this party!" I announced, stepping out onto the balcony and spinning my yoyo. Across the room at the top of the stairs, I saw Mr. D'Argencourt, who seemed very surprised to see me. Looking up from their positions next to Marinette's cage, I saw two other men. One was young, with pink highlights in his blond hair. And I was surprised to see that the third man was the father of Sabrina—Roger Raincomprix, who had promised to spearhead the investigation to find Marinette. Well, now I knew why that investigation was unsuccessful.

"Ladybug?" Mr. D'Argencourt asked incredulously. "What are you doing here?"

"I think that should be pretty obvious," I replied, trying to keep my voice confident to mask the underlying terror. "I'm here to foil your plan."

I heard a malevolent chuckle, and I turned to look at the young blond man. "I'd like to see you try it," he sneered. "I don't think you could foil anything at all. Because you're not the real Ladybug, are you? We already captured her. How much experience do you even have?"

"As much as I need," I replied coldly, trying to keep calm. Without trying to carry on the conversation any longer, I flung my yoyo at the blond man. He tried to dodge, but I tied him up easily, and swung him into Lieutenant Raincomprix, knocking both away from the cage. Pulling my yoyo away from them, I tied it around a steel beam on the ceiling and swung down to the cage, landing right next to Marinette, with only the iron bars between us.

Lieutenant Raincomprix and the other man were incapacitated, while Mr. D'Argencourt was still on the stairs, so I had a few seconds. "Marinette, listen," I whispered. "It's me, Lila. I'm going to get you out of there. How do I open the cage?"

"Aza has the key in his pocket," Marinette whispered back.

Aza—so that was the blond man's name. He must have been the one that Mr. Ramier had mentioned. I nodded. "Okay. How do I get that?"

"Look out!" Marinette exclaimed, and I turned around to see Mr. D'Argencourt running at me, with his sword drawn. With a quick spin of my yoyo, I barely managed to deflect the blade. But that was a close call; I'd just gotten lucky.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Aza shouted. "Let's not get hasty here, Darkblade." He turned to look at me. "Who are you, and why are you here?"

"I'm Ladybug," I answered. "And I already told you, I'm here to foil your plan."

Aza walked casually toward me, arms outstretched. "Neither of those is an actual answer. I'm not blind, I can see that you're Ladybug. I'm asking about who you are under that Miraculous. And why do you want to foil our plan, when I doubt you even know what it is?"

"Sorry, but I don't reveal my secret identity to random creepy strangers with evil plans," I retorted. "So tell me about what your plan entails."

Aza grinned. "Well, then. I was hoping you would ask! Welcome to the Gossamer Syndicate. We're an organization of formerly akumatized people banding together to make a difference."

"I asked for an explanation, not an infomercial."

"Fair enough. Basically, each of us wants to accomplish something that can't be accomplished easily, and so we're uniting to achieve our individual goals through a common means. If you want to actually get something done, the easiest way is via the akuma."

"So you're followers of Hawkmoth," I surmised. "You're trying to get yourselves akumatized again."

Aza shrugged. "Eh, not quite that specific. We're trying to win Hawkmoth's favor in whatever way we can. He's the one that has the power to achieve our goals. So in the hope that he will show us his favor, we're trying to retrieve something he wants."

"The Ladybug Miraculous," I breathed. "So that's why you captured the other Ladybug." Where was she, anyway? The only person in the cage was Marinette.

"All right," another voice said. "I've heard enough."

All eyes turned to the upper balcony, where Chat Noir stood twirling his staff.

"What?" Chat Noir asked, flashing a smile. "You seriously didn't expect me to drop by? I've been tailing this girl for hours now, and now I'm ready to lend a paw."

A pang of worry struck me as I realized he was fully aware of who I was. I was also a little creeped out by the fact that he'd been following me. But Chat Noir was certainly a good ally to have.

Aza let out an exuberant laugh. "Well then! It looks like we'll have two Miraculouses to give Hawkmoth instead of just the one. This is excellent! Darkblade, take care of Chat Noir, and Rogercop, take care of that fake bug."

Lieutenant Raincomprix furrowed his brow and ran at me, swinging his baton. I nimbly dodged, leaping on top of Marinette's cage. I had an excellent view of Chat Noir parrying Mr. D'Argencourt's sword with his staff, before Lieutenant Raincomprix surprised me by throwing his baton, knocking me off the other side of the cage. He was quite fast, and pinned me down to the ground before I had a chance to right myself. I was surprised to realize that none of it hurt. I guess that was one of the abilities of the Miraculous.

"I've got her!" Lieutenant Raincomprix called out. I took the opportunity to knee him in the stomach, causing him to relax his grip just enough for me to squirm free. I righted myself and hit him with my yoyo, knocking him backwards. In the few moments when he was stunned, I grabbed him, dragged him to the wall, and tied him up with a piece of rope from his belt.

"Stop!" Mr. D'Argencourt shouted out. I turned to look at him, and saw Chat Noir flat on the ground, with the tip of Mr. D'Argencourt's sword just above his heart.

"Cease thy troublemaking and surrender thy Miraculous!" Mr. D'Argencourt ordered. "Do this with haste, or I shall slay thy partner."

Oh god. Three minutes as Ladybug and I was already faced with a life or death situation.

"Use your Lucky Charm!" Marinette whispered to me from the cage.

Lucky Charm…how did that work again? Oh, yes. Ladybug throws her yoyo in the air, and says "Lucky Charm." Is that all there is to it?

"Lucky Charm!" I shouted, flinging my yoyo as high as I could. It hit the ceiling and bounced off, ricocheting across the room. No convenient object presented itself.

Aza laughed. "See? Called it. A total newbie."

"Excuse me," Mr. D'Argencourt interjected, "I am about to kill Chat Noir. I think I deserve a little bit more of the spotlight, Pixelator."

"Of course. Sorry, sorry," Aza replied. "Carry on."

I tried again. "Lucky charm!" This time I didn't throw it as high. But the convenient object still failed to appear, and the yoyo descended and almost hit me on the head.

"Um, Ladybug? I'm still about to kill this boy," Mr. D'Argencout reminded me.

"Yes, yes, of course," I said without really thinking of what I was responding to. I only processed what he had said and what I had said when he shot me a very confused look.

Chat Noir seized the opportunity to wriggle out from under the sword point and to kick Mr. D'Argencourt away from him along the balcony. I guess my plan had worked after all, even if it hadn't been in the way I had intended.

Marinette made a motion with her hands. "You need to spin it like this."

Well, this girl certainly knew a lot about Ladybug. I tried spinning the yoyo as she instructed, and yelled out "Lucky Charm!" one last time.

This time it worked. In a flash of red and pink, a small object materialized above me and fell. I tried to catch it and just barely missed. Bending down to pick it up off the floor, I saw that it was a small metal padlock with a key.

Would the same key work on Marinette's cage? I leaped over the cage and tried to fit the key into the lock. It didn't work.

"Looking for this?" Aza sneered, pulling a key out of his pocket. "Go get it!" And with a smirk he threw the key down a metal grate.

"No, no, no, no!" I breathed, running over to the grate and trying to fit my hand through the narrow gaps. Aza cackled maniacally at my futile efforts.

"Cataclysm!" I heard from behind me, and I turned to see Chat Noir raising his hand, which was wrapped in black energy. He leaped off the balcony and ran towards the cage, tearing through the bars. Marinette was free.

Aza grinned, and pushed a button on the wall. The floor opened up underneath where the cage had been, dropping both Marinette and Chat Noir into a hidden pit. The top of the pit closed again, trapping them inside.

I smacked my hand to my face. When had Aza found time to build a hidden pit in the floor, anyway?

Aza cackled, spreading his arms wide. "Come at me, phony bug! I've prepared for every eventuality!"

I fingered the padlock in my hand. This all seemed hopeless. And my earrings were making an odd beeping noise. What did that mean?

"Get out of here!" I heard Marinette yell from underneath the floor. "You only have moments before you'll detransform!"

I didn't need to be told twice. In less than half a minute, I was on the balcony, down the hall, through the room where I had come in, and out the door into the lantern-lit alley.

Oh god. I had left her behind. I was the only one who could have saved her, and I had let her down.

In a flash, I saw my Ladybug outfit vanish. I stumbled and fell as my heeled boots suddenly appeared on my feet. I usually didn't have any trouble wearing heels, but usually they aren't gone one second and there the next.

"How did it go?" I heard Tikki say.

I glared at her as I stood up. "Where were you that whole time while I was getting my butt kicked?"

Tikki sighed. "If you'd let me explain instead of transforming at a moment's notice, you would know that in order to transform you, I have to go inside the Miraculous. So once you transform, I can't be around to help you."

I groaned. "Well, now we're in even more trouble than when we started out. Chat Noir's been captured, those three guys have the Cat Miraculous, they know that I have the Ladybug Miraculous, and I've demonstrated myself as completely incompetent."

Tikki flew to my side. "Don't say that!" she reassured me. "You've done wonderfully. And when you go back to try again I'm sure you'll succeed."

I sat on the curb and put my face in my hands. "You're putting your faith in the wrong place, Tikki. It's just like when I was akumatized…I'll always be a fake hero, I'll never be good enough to be the real thing."

"You know, the other Ladybug told me the exact same thing on her first mission."

I raised my head. "What?"

"When she became a hero for the first time, she messed up—quite badly. She tried to help and only made things worse. And then she realized that she didn't have a choice. She was the only one who could make things better again, and when she accepted that was when she truly became a hero."

"Please don't compare me to Ladybug," I whispered.

"I know how much you claim to hate her," Tikki continued, "but now you've experienced what she has, and you've learned how hard it is to be a hero, and how easy it is to make mistakes, to make things worse. But whether or not you're willing to forgive her just yet, you're in the same place that she was. You're the only one who can solve this problem and save the girl you love. So get back in there and be a hero, Lila. It's time for you to shine."

"Up until now you haven't exactly been nice to me," I noted. "What changed?"

"I only suited my attitude to what you needed," Tikki replied. "Up until now, you needed somebody forceful and determined, to tell you what to do and how to do it. But now you need to make your own decisions and use your own talents, and you need support rather than directions. I do care about you, Lila, even if I acted like I didn't. I want nothing more than to see you succeed."

"Thank you," I breathed. I stood up and clenched my fists. "You're right. I'm going to do this, and I'm going to do it right." I reached up to my earrings and took them off. "But not as Ladybug. That's not who I am. I'm not the hero who swoops in, fights the bad guy, and saves the day. I'm the one who plans ahead, who schemes and deceives, who uses the subtle arts rather than brute force."

"So what does that make you?" Tikki prompted.

I pulled my fox necklace over my head. "I'm Volpina."


	3. Chapter 3

I stood in the stairwell and knocked four times, trying to keep myself from shaking with fear. I tried not to ponder whether my plan would work, or what the consequences would be if I made even the tiniest mistake.

"You've got this, Lila," Tikki whispered from inside my backpack.

Two hours had passed since my last time in the building. In that time, I had refueled Tikki and drafted a careful plan. If everything went perfectly, I'd be able to free Marinette, as well as Ladybug and Chat Noir. And if I messed up…well, I could improvise. I just had to remember that the people I was going up against were just regular people, not supervillains. It would be totally manageable. Except that one of them had a sword, and…no, I wasn't going to think about that.

The door creaked open and a face peered around the edge. "Yes?" Mr. D'Argencourt asked.

I drew a deep breath. "Good evening," I began. "I'm here as a representative of Hawkmoth. Might I come in?"

Mr. D'Argencourt's eyes widened. "Yes, of course. Enter." He turned around. "Rogercop! Pixelator! Come up here!"

I followed him into the storage room and seated myself at the table. Mr. D'Argencourt took one of the other seats. Within a few seconds, Aza and Officer Raincomprix entered the room. Aza took the remaining chair, and Lieutenant Raincomprix pulled over a crate to sit on.

"I know who you are," Aza began. "You're Volpina, aren't you?"

I nodded. "Well, my given name's Lila. I was Volpina."

Aza shrugged. "Here in the Gossamer Syndicate, we always use the names gifted to us by Hawkmoth, whether or not we are currently akumatized. So this is Rogercop and Darkblade, and I'm Pixelator."

"Fair enough," I replied. "Anyway, down to business. I've been working for Hawkmoth for a month now, trying to help him take down Ladybug."

"Yes, I've heard the rumors that you and Ladybug are sworn enemies," Aza replied. "So what does Hawkmoth have to say to us?"

"Firstly, he's very impressed with the work you've done. He's aware that you recently managed to capture both Ladybug and Chat Noir."

"How does he know that?" Lieutenant Raincomprix asked, looking slightly worried.

"He has eyes everywhere," I replied coolly. "He can see behind any door and inside any heart."

"You should know that," Aza whispered to his partner. He turned back to me. "So what does he want from us?"

"Isn't it obvious? He wants the Miraculouses. You are planning to give them to him, of course, or am I wrong?"

"No, no, no," Aza stammered. "I mean, of course he can have them. There's just one problem, though: we only have the Cat Miraculous. We haven't yet acquired the Ladybug Miraculous."

I leaned forward. "You mean you let Ladybug get away?!" I exclaimed.

"Oh, no! Definitely not! Well, at least not the usual Ladybug. You see, it appears that before we captured Ladybug, she managed to give her Miraculous to somebody else. This person tried to thwart our plan. We have yet to capture her, but we're fully confident that we'll be able to do so. She isn't nearly as skilled or as dangerous as the actual Ladybug. And once we get her, we'll get the Miraculous, and Hawkmoth will have his reward."

I leaned back in my chair. "Excellent. I'm sure Hawkmoth will be satisfied with the Cat Miraculous for now, as long as you don't lose sight of the overall objective."

Before Aza could respond, there was a loud crash from behind a door I hadn't noticed before. I stood up. "What the hell was that?"

Mr. D'Argencourt and Lieutenant Raincomprix stood up quickly and ran over to check out what was going on, unlocking the door and slamming it open. Aza remained seated. "I'm sorry about this. I'm sure it's nothing."

"So these sorts of noises happen a lot in here, then?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Not really. But there's nothing to worry about."

"Pixelator, come and look at this!" Lieutenant Raincomprix shouted. "Things are flying!"

I narrowed my eyes. "If you don't know what it is, there's no telling whether it could prevent Hawkmoth from getting his Miraculouses. Is that a risk you're really willing to take?" I continued without waiting for an answer. "I'd strongly suggest you go and check it out. I'll just take a look around down here."

Aza nodded, and hurried over to the door.

I thanked Tikki under my breath. She certainly knew how to create a diversion. Trying not to draw too much attention to myself, I walked casually over to the hallway, in case anybody stuck their heads out the door, and once I rounded the corner I ran. I had just a few minutes at the maximum.

I ran around the balcony and down the staircase, and slammed my hand down on the button, opening the trapdoor in the floor. Running over, I looked in. The pit was not as deep as I had imagined; it wouldn't be too difficult to climb out. At the bottom, I saw Marinette and…wait, was that Adrien Agreste?

"Adrien?" I asked, surprised. "You're Chat Noir?"

Adrien nodded. "Are you getting us out of here?"

I nodded in return. "Yes, and we have to hurry. We've just got a couple minutes."

I reached down and helped Marinette, then Adrien, climb out of the pit.

"All right. Let's make a run for it," I decided.

Adrien shook his head. "Aza took my Miraculous. We have to retrieve it before we leave."

"Can't Ladybug just come back for it?" I said, exasperated.

"If we leave it with them they could use it to transform, and potentially give it to Hawkmoth. That's not a risk we can take."

I groaned. "And I also have to rescue Ladybug; she's supposedly here too. Did you see where she was?"

"Don't worry about her," Marinette replied. "She'll be fine."

"No!" I insisted. "I promised Tikki I'd get her out of here. I can't leave her behind."

As if on cue, Tikki flew in down the hallway. "Lila! They're coming!" she shouted. "I tried to distract them, but they're on their way right now!"

I slapped my hand to my forehead. "Well, now we're in a bit of a mess. Marinette, Adrien, hide behind that box over there; I'll stall them. As soon as you get the chance, sneak out behind them."

As Marinette and Adrien ran to hide, I rushed over to slam the button and close the pit. And as Lieutenant Raincomprix rounded the corner onto the balcony, I appeared to simply be wandering around the room and examining what was there.

"This is a fascinating place you have here," I commented. "So where are you keeping Ladybug and Chat Noir?"

The officer pointed. "You see that circle on the floor? It's a trapdoor; they're underneath it. Do you want to see them?"

I almost said yes, but then I remembered what would happen if they opened that pit. "I don't think so. We don't want to give them a chance to escape, after all."

This was odd, though. He said Ladybug was under the trapdoor, but there hadn't been anybody in there besides Marinette and Adrien. So what was going on?

"And where are you keeping the Cat Miraculous?" I asked.

"I've got that," Aza said from behind the policeman.

"Excellent!" I replied, walking towards the base of the staircase. "Might I take that, so I can deliver it to Hawkmoth?"

Aza nodded. "Of course." He began walking along the balcony towards the top of the stairs.

The positioning was problematic. There was no way Marinette and Adrien could sneak out the exit; they'd have to squeeze right by all three of these men. But I'd worry about that later. My first target was the Miraculous.

I met Aza at the bottom of the stairs. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a black ring. I took it and pocketed it. Phew—now all that was left was to find Ladybug and to get all four of us out of here.

"They're escaping!" Lieutenant Raincomprix yelled, pointing at a crate that had tipped over behind me. Behind it I saw Adrien, looking startled and scared.

"Not a problem," Aza coolly replied. "Just block the exit." He turned to look directly at me. "Well, you're a sly little fox, aren't you, Volpina? Would you mind giving that back?"

I shook my head, taking a few steps backwards.

"You actually had me fooled there," he said, slowly walking forwards. "I'd suggest you hand it over before things get ugly. Because believe me, I can make things get very ugly for you."

I shook my head again. "Sorry, it'll take a bit more than that to get this away from me."

"Oh, I'm sure it will," Aza chuckled, unlocking a hidden compartment in the wall. "So the other Ladybug, that came in earlier and failed—that was also you, wasn't it?"

"Yes," I admitted. No point trying to maintain the lie anymore.

"And I saw how you were looking at the other Ladybug. To think, I thought you hated her, but now it looks as if you love her. That's quite a turnaround."

Now I was just confused. "What do you mean? I still hate Ladybug; that never changed. But I was never even able to find her before I had to leave."

Realization dawned on Aza. "Oh, wow," he breathed. "This is so ironic. How did you never manage to figure it out?"

"Figure what out? Can you please just get to the point?!"

Aza laughed. "Prepare for your mind to be blown. The girl you hate and the girl you love are one and the same."

I shook my head. "Sorry, but I'm not falling for that."

Aza glanced over to the box where Marinette was hiding. "I know you're behind there," he shouted. "Come on out, and tell her the truth."

Marinette sighed, and looked out from behind the box. "I'm sorry," she said softly; I could barely hear her voice across the room. "I thought it would be better for you if you didn't know."

"Oh, Volpina. You actually thought we'd just capture a random girl for no reason?" Aza chuckled. "That wouldn't make any sense at all, now, would it?"

This was too much to take in. It couldn't be right. Marinette was so kind and gentle, and Ladybug was so forceful and angry. Nobody could be both.

Except…Tikki had expressed both of those personas as well. She was harsh when she needed to be, and gentle when I needed support. I'd thought I'd known her, only to discover a completely different side of her in a different situation. Perhaps I'd only been seeing one side of Marinette this whole time as well.

"Get the Miraculouses away from this girl," Aza barked at his two partners. "And I'll contact Hawkmoth." Reaching into the hidden compartment he had opened, Aza pulled out a small glass jar, in which fluttered a single black butterfly.

"Oh my god, that's an akuma," I heard Marinette saying. "How did they even get that? This isn't good at all."

Lieutenant Raincomprix and Mr. D'Argencourt began to hurry down the stairs.

This was too much to process on top of the fact that Marinette was Ladybug. I was standing in the middle of the room, completely still, doing nothing. I was helpless.

"Lila, look out!" I heard Marinette yelling, and I ducked just in time as Mr. D'Argencourt swung his sword.

"What are you doing?!" I heard, and I saw Lieutenant Raincomprix grabbing Mr. D'Argencourt and holding him back. "You could have killed her!"

"I care not!" Mr. D'Argencourt growled. "I shall do whatever it takes to ascend as the ruler of Paris, and thou shalt not restrain me!"

"Just let me handle it," the policeman replied, and approached me. "Listen, girlie," he sneered, "you're going to hand over the Miraculouses to me now, all right?"

I reached into my bag and pulled out the Ladybug earrings, holding them in one hand and the Cat ring in the other. "Sorry," I replied, "but as a cop, you should know that it's never okay to steal." And with that, I flung each Miraculous across the room toward its owner.

Marinette and Adrien were quick to react, each grabbing their Miraculous and putting it on. And with yells of "spots on" and "claws out," both transformed.

Now we were getting somewhere. Since they had their yoyo and staff, they'd be able to get up onto the balcony without having to use the stairs, and they'd be able to easily reach the exit without anybody intercepting them.

Lieutenant Raincomprix glared at me. "You just ruined the chance I had to finally depose the mayor. I'm not happy about that."

"Don't worry, Rogercop," I heard, and Aza emerged from a cloud of purple smoke. He was wearing a skintight turquoise costume and a mask that appeared to contain an enormous lens, and his face was encircled by a purple ring in the shape of a butterfly. "Hawkmoth and I can handle it from here. He's granted me the power I need to take down these idiots once and for all." He turned to look at Ladybug and Chat Noir. "Look at the lens!" he cackled, putting his hand to his ear.

I wasted no time. I dodged as the policeman tried to grab me, and grabbed onto Pixelator's back. As he clicked the shutter on his camera lens, I pulled his head back, and the camera only captured an area of the ceiling.

"Get out of here!" I yelled at Ladybug and Chat Noir as I wrestled with the villain. "What's important is that they don't get the Miraculouses!"

Ladybug and Chat Noir turned to each other. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but they definitely did not appear to be leaving.

Pixelator took another photo, and I just barely managed to make him miss the two heroes. That was it. I grabbed frantically at his face, trying to pull off the camera, to no avail. Pixelator growled, and grabbed at me as I desperately tried to hold onto his back.

After a minute, Pixelator managed to throw me to the ground. "And that's that!" he announced as he leaned over me and put his finger to his camera. "Say cheese, Volpina!"

And that was when Chat Noir's staff swept him off his feet. Seizing the opportunity, I pounced on Pixelator and grabbed his camera. Before Pixelator could fight back, I threw the camera to Ladybug, who broke it and captured the akuma in one fluid motion.

As she did this, Chat Noir grabbed me and extended his staff, carrying us onto the balcony, right by the exit. I saw Ladybug following close behind us, pursued by Mr. D'Argencourt and Lieutenant Raincomprix, while Aza lay bewildered on the floor.

"Wait!" I told Chat Noir as we reached the storage room by the exit. "I know what I have to do." As Ladybug caught up with us, I dug through my bag and pulled out the padlock I had summoned as my Lucky Charm a few hours before. Working quickly, I secured the padlock around the door handle, and I heard Mr. D'Argencourt and Lieutenant Raincomprix begin to bang on it. They wouldn't be getting through it, though—at least, not in the time it would take the cops to get here.

"You two can leave," I told the heroes. "I'll call the cops and they can sort this out. These guys will finally get what they deserve."

Ladybug nodded. "Thank you so much, Lila. You've done wonderfully."

"Agreed," Chat Noir added. "By the way, can you please not start any rumors about our secret identities?"

I laughed. "It's not like anybody would believe me, anyway. But don't worry; you can trust me."

And Ladybug and Chat Noir departed, disappearing into the clouds of the midnight sky.

Two days later, those clouds had not faded, and were pouring down rain on the city of Paris. As I exited the school doors, I extended my hand into the rain, realizing that there was no way for me to get home without being soaked.

Marinette opened the door and stood next to me, opening a black umbrella.

I said nothing. I couldn't find the words. I wasn't going to lie to her, but telling the truth is always so much harder, especially for me.

"Hey, Lila," she opened.

"Hey, Marinette," I replied.

"I just wanted to say thanks, one more time," she said. "You did so much for me. You rescued me, and resolved a problem that seemed unresolvable, even for a superhero."

I avoided making eye contact. "I just did what anybody would have done."

"Tikki told me everything," Marinette replied, and I froze, suddenly worried. Marinette continued. "And believe me, most people would have given up within the first hour of what you did."

This wasn't the time to try this, but I did anyway. "Say, Marinette," I began awkwardly, "on Tuesday evening, would you like to meet up at the park, and maybe go to a movie, or a restaurant…or whatever works for you?"

Oh no. I'd been practicing for almost a month now, and I still managed to screw it up. It sounded all wrong.

Marinette drew a deep breath. "Yeah, Tikki suspected you'd ask something along those lines." She stammered for a moment. "But even though you know my secret…I thought you hated Ladybug. But you still asked me…"

"I think I was too hasty before," I replied, speaking slowly so as to not mess up the words. "I didn't understand how hard it was to have the responsibilities of a hero, or how easy it was to make mistakes. But now that I've tried it myself, I understand."

We looked at each other for a few seconds in silence. Then, Marinette reached over and handed me her umbrella. I tentatively closed my hand around the handle, and our fingers touched for a few seconds before she let go. I closed my mouth as soon as I noticed I'd left it open.

Marinette quickly reached up and grabbed the brim of the umbrella, and I realized it had been about to snap closed around my head. "Careful with that," she commented. "That happened to me too, the first time."

I tentatively laughed, and she laughed too. A few moments later, she turned to go, and looked over her shoulder at me. "See you Tuesday evening."

And as Marinette walked away, I noticed Tikki peeking out of her purse. She flashed me a wink and waved.

I waved back with a smile. And as I walked home in the rain, I pondered what stories the future held for Marinette and me.


End file.
